Let's see if he still holds a speed advantage at a lower weight class. Edgar vs. Mendes sounds about right for a 145 debut.

Rumors abound today concerning the title fight Saturday. Not even going to speculate until we have something tangible, but if the title fight doesn't happen this PPV is fucked.

---------- Post added 2012-08-23 at 12:56 PM ----------

@ 2pm EST there will be a conference call regarding the state of UFC 151. Doesn't seem good.

Event has just been cancelled. UFC 151 will not happen. Hendo has a tear in his MCL. Chael Sonnen offered the fight, and he accepted it, but Jon Jones himself turned down the fight with Sonnen. Machida vs. Jones now on for UFC 152.

UFC put all their eggs in one basket in the Henderson v. Jones fight, and now it bit them in the ass.

@ 2pm EST there will be a conference call regarding the state of UFC 151. Doesn't seem good.

Event has just been cancelled. UFC 151 will not happen. Hendo has a tear in his MCL. Chael Sonnen offered the fight, and he accepted it, but Jon Jones himself turned down the fight with Sonnen. Machida vs. Jones now on for UFC 152.

UFC put all their eggs in one basket in the Henderson v. Jones fight, and now it bit them in the ass.

What a clusterfuck the day has been, eh? Seemed liked a turn of events happened each and every minute. First Hendo gets hurt, then Chael Sonnen offers to save the whole card by not going through any training camps AND giving up his purse, and still no fight materializes? Biggest headache ZUFFA has ever gotten.

Regardless of what people may think and﻿ criticize about him - anyone who steps up to the plate in less than two weeks time to not only save the fight card, but to save the fighters on the undercard in dire need of a paycheck from being devastated financially (which CAN happen) is a hero in my eyes. Hats off to you, Chael. (Link) I really wish I could of said the same about Jonny Bones, but honestly....to hell with him. I mildly liked Jon Jones before today, but now after this big fiasco happened, it's gone. I know he's the champ and all, and it's ultimately his decision on whether he fights or not, but for fuck's sake - what he did today was the most selfish thing I've seen a fighter do in a long, long time. To be so short-sighted and only think about himself and not the other guys on the card who could potentially be in a financial pitfall because of this is rageworthy. IMO, he should be stripped of his title, or at the very least fined by ZUFFA for his actions today. A whole card being canceled is unprecedented. I sincerely hope Belfort and/or Hendo knock you down a peg...or 3.

Jones didn't turn the fight down, his contract said he wasn't going to fight anyone else. He couldn't LEGALLY be made to fight or they would have made him fight. They sued randy couture when he wanted to retire early, his options were fight 2 more times or pay them more than he made the previous 6 years combined. UFC cares about the UFC.

I have a 4-0 amateur record (career lasted from '98-2000, astonishing i know) and to get those 4 fights, I had to deal with FIVE cancellations. I drove 14 hours to SC for one fight, was there and 36 hours before my fight the WHOLE thing was cancelled. We were out gas money, hotel money and it sucked. Never stood to make anything anyway but another notch in the belt was worth it.

Guys in this game are used to it by the time they're fighting at a pro level. Most of the USA is not very MMA FRIENDLY and you will have fights cancelled. The undercard guys stood to make a little, but not enough to change their lives. The big names don't make anything close to other big time pro athletes, the vet minimum for an NFL player would have made more than EVERY fighter in the UFC last year and only Tito Ortiz grossed more. After those guys pay trainers, insurance, entry fees most of them aren't making much at all, just over half make more than the average adult american BEFORE they pay out anything.
Sonnen didn't wanna do this for any reason other than to get a title shot and make himself look like a good guy. Some of us still remember him getting caught cheating before his recent string of ass whippings.

I think this all has escalated just because of the childness of one certain bald guy. Yeah, losing a main event sucks but it wouldn't have been first time an event lost a main event and still went through. Hell, UFC 147 got more random guys fighting in the end than a two dollar whore during a spring break weekend but still aired, just not as PPV.

In my mind the Sonnen fight just made no sense at all. What market value is there championshipwise in a fight where a guy comes up from lower weight class, after a loss and and on really short notice and should be considered as a legit contender? I just fail to understand why one meaningless fight would've saved the event.

The real question is, was it wise to build an event with subpar supporting card in the first place. I'm all in for the fighters right to get paid for the work they've done but it really shouldn't be on fighter's shoulders to take responsibility but the company's.. and they should've made the card carry beter in the first place. I've heard that the UFC is obligated to pay the fighters' show up money in this scenario.

In reading some of Jones' statements to the public these past couple days has certainly given credence to Jones being a fucking PR nightmare. Someone, anyone, review and rewrite his statements before he gives them. I don't place the blame of UFC 151 going in the shitter solely on Jones and his camp. Though, Jones had a perfect opportunity to garner respect among peers and he didn't do it. I mean, facing Sonnen, even though that match-up literally makes no sense (but when fellow LHWs turn down the chance to fight Jones I can appreciate the unique position the UFC was put in) it wouldn't have been the end of the world, and let's face it, does anyone think Sonnen offered any threat to Jones even with a full camp, nevermind taking the fight on short notice? Jones complaining about money in a few interviews back, and not wanting to be in a position of retiring as a broke athlete, and he essentially pissed away a free paycheck because we know Sonnen can hype the shit out of a fight.

I just hope this all goes away as soon as possible. Whether JJ is to blame or everything is just a big witch hunt, I still think JJ puts out exiting matches.

Tbh this summer/early fall has been kind of a lackluster to me. Since we don't get to see bacne demolish BJ as Rory blew his knee, next "big thing" for me is the Dos Santos vs. Velasquez match. The first match reminded me of the first match up between St. Pierre and Serra and i think Velasquez will be a real threat to Dos Santos in the rematch.

Btw did you see the latest by Sonnen? The pizza special poster was awesome!

Used to love JJ but the more and more I see of him the less and less I like his character. I'd Really like to see Sonnen climb the ladder and fight him in a title match. Nobody can build up a fight better then Sonnen he is the master at instigating. Aside from that I really want to see GSP get back into it soon his injury has kept him out a very long time. If he doesn't make it back soon his boy Rory McDonald is going to be the one fighting him.

This just came in about 20 minutes ago, but boy oh boy does this have the potential to be one of the top 3 biggest fights of the year. Erik Kock is out with an injury against Jose Aldo, and guess who's stepping up to fight him? None other than Frankie Edgar. [Link] This my friends....this...is going to be an excellent fight. Frankie doesn't have to cut much weight at all compared to what Aldo has to usually cut (heard he walks around at 160+), and on top of that, this is the first serious legitimate threat Aldo will face since coming to the UFC, as I really think Edgar has a huge chance at being the 3rd dual division champ in the UFC. To top it all off, it's just a little over a month away on Oct. 13th. So stoked for this.

This just came in about 20 minutes ago, but boy oh boy does this have the potential to be one of the top 3 biggest fights of the year. Erik Kock is out with an injury against Jose Aldo, and guess who's stepping up to fight him? None other than Frankie Edgar. [Link] This my friends....this...is going to be an excellent fight. Frankie doesn't have to cut much weight at all compared to what Aldo has to usually cut (heard he walks around at 160+), and on top of that, this is the first serious legitimate threat Aldo will face since coming to the UFC, as I really think Edgar has a huge chance at being the 3rd dual division champ in the UFC. To top it all off, it's just a little over a month away on Oct. 13th. So stoked for this.

That fight should be amazing. I think Edgar's pace and heart will eventually be too much for Aldo, that is if Edgar can avoid the leg kicks of doom.

Anyone watching the One FC event today? The AA v. Sylvia fight is a good example of why One FC's rule regarding soccer kicks is fucking retarded. That's a win for AA in my books. Sylvia crumpled from the punches, was gassed, and even after resting up because of the "illegal blows" i.e. soccer kicks that weren't given the go ahead by the ref, he threw in the towel. Glad Sylvia was never given another chance in the UFC. He looked liked dogshit, while AA looked on point.

Anyone watching the One FC event today? The AA v. Sylvia fight is a good example of why One FC's rule regarding soccer kicks is fucking retarded. That's a win for AA in my books. Sylvia crumpled from the punches, was gassed, and even after resting up because of the "illegal blows" i.e. soccer kicks that weren't given the go ahead by the ref, he threw in the towel. Glad Sylvia was never given another chance in the UFC. He looked liked dogshit, while AA looked on point.

What's the rule? And good for Andre. He was one of my favorite fighters, and he was entertaining as hell during Pride. Made me a bit sad at his lack of success in Strikeforce, but if he keeps it up and has his head set on going hard for the rest of his fights and keep retirement on the back of his mind, I'd love to see him back in the UFC. If Hendo can do it, I know he can, too. Tim Sylvia though...who cares. He stopped being relevant post UFC, and his fights after that prove it.

What's the rule? And good for Andre. He was one of my favorite fighters, and he was entertaining as hell during Pride. Made me a bit sad at his lack of success in Strikeforce, but if he keeps it up and has his head set on going hard for the rest of his fights and keep retirement on the back of his mind, I'd love to see him back in the UFC. If Hendo can do it, I know he can, too. Tim Sylvia though...who cares. He stopped being relevant post UFC, and his fights after that prove it.

The rule, in a nutshell, is the ref has to assess the situation before he allows a fighter to use soccer kicks. The fight was ruled a No Contest, because I guess AA didn't wait for the go ahead to kick Sylvia in his melon. Whatever, I count it as a win for AA. The punches did the damage and Sylvia opted not to continue even after they gave him 5 minutes to recover from the "illegal" soccer kicks.

There are way too many rules that cater to brazilian ju jitsu in mma. Seems every rule caters to the styles weaknesses.

If anything the current 10 point system the UFC uses caters towards wrestlers more than any other style.

One FC recently announced that soccer kicks can be used without a ref giving the go ahead to use them. That means they just need stomps and we might have ourselves a new org to take the place of Pride, and that makes me a happy MMA fan.